Nyshae’ Weaver’s blank stare elicited a quirky question for the IUP senior and two-time PSAC West women’s basketball Athlete of the Year.
Had the 6-foot forward from Baltimore Coppin Academy High School ever felt this numb before?
“Never,” Weaver said without a blink.
Rightfully so, because IUP is headed to its first Division II national championship game.
Weaver scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Ellie Wilkerson added 20 points and six assists and the second-seeded Crimson Hawks ended No. 3 seed Colorado Mesa’s 34-game winning streak with a 75-70 semifinals victory Thursday night at Duquesne’s UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
“I’ve been here for three years, and this has always been the goal from Day 1,” Weaver said. “To get to the championship. At first, I couldn’t even see that far. I was just looking at the PSAC’s (conference tournament). But now, it just keeps going. Now, it’s like, ‘Why not?’ ”
Teresa Maggio also scored in double figures for the Crimson Hawks with 17 points.
IUP (31-3), which opened the game on a 12-0 run — Weaver scoring the last seven — will meet top-seeded Grand Valley State (34-1) for the championship at 3 p.m. Saturday at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
“It sets the tone,” IUP coach Craig Carey said of the early scoring burst. “It set the tone for us as well mentally. That many wins in a row for them, that’s a daunting number. We just tried to make it another game, another opponent.”
It marks the first PSAC women’s team to compete for a national championship since Cal (Pa.) in 2015 and the first national finalist to play a title game in its home state since Ashland in 2017 in Columbia, Ohio.
Colorado Mesa (37-2), which hadn’t lost since Nov. 14 to West Texas A&M, was led by Olivia Reed Thyne’s 34 points and 14 rebounds. Mason Rowland added 27 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, champions of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
“It was a big-time game,” Carey said. “Reed (Thyne) is the best post (player) we’ve seen all year.”
The 6-foot Reed Thyne, Colorado Mesa’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding, was overcome with emotion in the aftermath of the loss.
Sophomore Rowland stepped in to speak for her aching teammate.
“That run (IUP) came out on,” she said, “it was a bit of a shock. We battled back. At the end of the day, we stayed true to who we were. But they came out ready to play.”
IUP shot 49.2% (31 for 63) and committed just seven turnovers.
“Obviously, they’re a great team, and they did some things to us,” Colorado Mesa coach Taylor Wagner said. “But we did not do a great job defensively, like we normally do, and that was kind of the thing I was hoping we’d hang our hat on tonight.”
Wagner stayed composed while flanked by the teary-eyed tandem of Reed Thyne and Rowland.
“I’m grateful for our girls,” he said. “They battled. We hadn’t lost a game since November. It’s been over four months. It’s been a special year. This one stings a little bit, but we’re going to look at the body of work that we did all year long and celebrate all our successes we’ve had as a team. This is a special group, and I’m excited to be their coach.”
Carey couldn’t help but trade another compliment. After all, this was the high level he hoped his team would reach, with one more hurdle to clear.
“I can see why they only had one loss all year,” he said. “That is a very, very good team.”
IUP held a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter before Colorado Mesa stormed back within 72-68 on Hallie Clark’s basket, capping an 8-2 run.
But IUP, the PSAC champion, went back up by seven points and held on to advance to its first national championship game.
After IUP took control early, Colorado Mesa chipped away at the lead and pulled even at 23-23 on a basket by Reed with 7 minutes, 59 seconds left in the second quarter.
IUP regained the lead for good on Maggio’s 3-point shot 25 seconds later. The Crimson Hawks built their advantage to as many as 12 points twice in the fourth quarter — the last at 70-58 on a basket by Wilkerson — before staving off Colorado Mesa’s late charge.
“Proud of the team. It’s a major accomplishment,” Carey said. “But they’ve had a goal to get to where we’re going the whole year. It wasn’t just to get there, so we’re excited about the possibilities to keep playing.”